Forum Discussion
Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor
13 years agoThe FPGAs use volatile RAM for their configuration, so they can't retain any configuration when powered off. For the same reason you can't configure an FPGA that isn't soldered on a board (you could with a special socket, but then it wouldn't be very useful).
The development kits have a configuration flash, either an EPCS serial configuration chip, or a parallel CFI flash. When powered on the FPGA will attempt to load its configuration from this flash. The user manual that you got with the kit should explain how to flash a design.